1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optional apparatus of an image forming device, and more particularly to an optional apparatus of an image forming device that is additionally combined into a main body of the image forming device to expand the function of the image forming device and a control method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Image forming devices output image data produced by the devices themselves or received from an outside source on printing paper. The image forming devices may be copying machines, printers, scanners, facsimile machines and multifunction devices in which two or more devices are combined together.
An optional apparatus of an image forming device is additionally combined into the main body of the image forming device, for expanding the function of the image forming device as needed. The representative optional apparatus of the image forming device may be an optional feeding apparatus. The optional feeding apparatus is additionally combined into the main body of the image forming device to make it possible to additionally feed printing papers of sizes different from those of printing papers that can be fed through feeding trays combined into the main body of the image forming device.
FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a conventional multifunction image forming device. As illustrated in FIG. 1A, the multifunction image forming device includes a main body 10 and A4/B4 feeding trays 20-1 and 20-2 combined into the main body 10.
FIG. 1B is a sectional view of the multifunction image forming device of FIG. 1A. As illustrated in FIG. 1B, the main body 10 includes A4/B4 feeding units 17-1 and 17-2, that are fixedly provided at predetermined positions in the image forming device, for feeding A4/B4 printing papers loaded in the A4/B4 feeding trays 20-1 and 20-2 to a printing unit (not illustrated) for printing images.
Hereinafter, the operation of the multifunction image forming device will be explained.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the internal construction of the conventional multifunction image forming device. Referring to FIG. 2, the main body 10 of the multifunction image forming device includes a scanning unit 11, a storage unit 13, a control unit 15, A4/B4 feeding units 17-1 and 17-2 and a printing unit 19. Additionally, A4/B4 feeding trays 20-1 and 20-2 are combined into the main body 10.
The scanning unit 11 produces image data by scanning manuscript papers. The storage unit 13 is a recording medium in which the image data produced from the scanning unit 11 and print data transmitted from a PC (not illustrated) are stored. The A4/B4 feeding units 17-1 and 17-2 feed the printing papers loaded in the A4/B4 feeding trays 20-1 and 20-2 to the printing unit 19. The printing unit 19 prints the image data and the print data stored in the storage unit 13 on the printing papers fed by the A4 feeding unit 17-1 or the B4 feeding unit 17-2. The control unit 15 controls the scanning operation, feeding operation and printing operation.
According to the conventional multifunction image forming device, as illustrated in FIG. 1B, the A4/B4 feeding units 17-1 and 17-2 are fixedly provided in specified positions in the main body 10, and spaces for mounting the A4/B4 feeding trays 20-1 and 20-2 therein are provided in the lower parts of the A4/B4 feeding units 17-1 and 17-2, respectively.
Accordingly, if the user uses only A4 printing papers as the printing papers, the B4 feeding unit 17-2 and the B4 feeding tray 20-2 that are not in use become useless.
Additionally, in order to make it possible to feed printing papers of a different size, for example, of a B5 size, to the multifunction image forming device, a ‘B5 feeding apparatus’ should be added to the lower part of the multifunction image forming device as an optional feeding apparatus. The ‘B5 feeding apparatus’ is provided with a ‘B5 feeding unit’, and has a space in which a ‘B5 feeding tray’ is mounted. However, the ‘B5 feeding unit’ provided in the ‘B5 feeding apparatus’ operates under the control of the control unit 15 in the same manner as the existing A4/B4 feeding units 17-1 and 17-2, and thus the ‘B5 feeding apparatus’ should be manufactured in consideration of the kind of the multifunction image forming device. As a result, the ‘B5 feeding apparatus’ cannot be used as the optional feeding apparatus of the multifunction image forming device of a different kind. Accordingly, the development and the manufacturing of the optional feeding apparatus should be separately performed according to the kind of the optional feeding apparatus, and this causes the development of the optional feeding apparatus to be troublesome.